Hello!
And just like that, Q1 2024 is over, and April is here. If you're in a part of the world where the weather has been cold, I'm sure you're excited. For me, I start to dread the upcoming weather season. Does anyone live in Maine or Vermont?… Anywhere in New England, for that matter?! I want to visit this summer for a few weeks if I can figure it out with the dog.
What's inside:
Reviewing the quarter
Comparison to other apps
An inspiring PDP
Q1 2024
I don't know about you, but Q1 was interesting this year. It's the first year I've been back in my freelancing era again, and boy did the apps I work on see lots of good and somewhat surprising things. Despite a LOT of store closures and fraudulent stores across the board, growth was in the air. I can't go into specifics for obvious reasons, but I ran numbers and reviewed the sum of Q1 this week. I was delighted to see healthy growth despite the economy being iffy. That said, the US stock markets have seen some decent growth lately, so are things [dare I say] getting better?
I will say that social media stories are terrifying regarding the job market, and I only hope there is a repair in the system so employers can get checked on how they are treating candidates.
Comparing
If growth wasn't your experience, it's okay. It's time to evaluate what worked, optimize around those successes, figure out what didn't work and trim the fat or change the way it's done, dust yourself off, and get to work. It's Q2, babyyyy. There is so much opportunity out there—it's time to go!! Don't get sidetracked by comparing yourself to those on social media talking about how they are killing it.
"Comparison is the thief of joy" - Theodore Roosevelt
If comparison is used in a way that makes you question your effort, it can be unproductive. If it's used to motivate your efforts, it can be extremely productive.
I have become more of a glass is half-full kinda gal these days. If something isn't working, I strive to find solutions to optimize results. In the spirit of that, I love to gain inspiration from others who I perceive to be doing good things. After researching around and seeing what good looks like, I try to put my own spin on it without reinventing the wheel.
There are things you can do to set yourself up for success in Q2 to make up for not having the best Q1. I've said it before and I will say it again: Make sure your app is in tip-top shape. Treat your business (and your personal life) with a certain philosophy, which is to do things today that your future self will thank you for. This can mean small things up to big things.
A few examples of small things can be:
Update your help desk articles with new images or a few extra helpful tips. The perception of seeing updated articles from your existing customers is that you are on it and continually working on the product.
Update your app's landing page or website with some new images or by offering live chat support. Live chat support on the website can go a long way in helping new prospective customers to navigate through their questions. They also expect you to do what they are expected to do (remember last week?).
Create some form of content - a video, blog article, a case study, make a TikTok account for the app - anything content related that will be engaging. Ask anyone I have worked with how they felt before making that first YouTube video I suggested they make and how they feel about it now. I can say with certainty that almost 85% were terrified and felt very out of their element doing it. Do things today that scare you. If it doesn't scare you just a little bit, you might not be taking a large enough risk
A small pricing experiment. Try removing your free plan. Try increasing your prices a small amount. If your prices are too high, try lowering them to get more users in the door at a lower price per install. I don’t know - test out different things here people!
An inspiring PDP
Tocobo is a brand I recently discovered when I was looking for clean sunscreen through the Yuka app. I've been low-key obsessed with their products because of the consistency of the cream and lack of lasting smell. Every other sunscreen I've used feels cakey, smells kinda bad or beachy, and is shockingly filled with hazardous ingredients.
I love the use of gifs in their product images on this PDP. Stop-motion has made a resurgence over the past year after its never-ending use in direct response ads in 2017, as well as unboxing and re-boxing video ads.
It works well here because this is a gift box. What do you think?
Thanks for making it to the end! Hope you enjoyed this week’s episode and you feel slightly more inspired to take on Q2.
Follow me on LinkedIn. Yawn. I’m 100% not funny on there but I guess I need to try more over there. Yawn.
Deb